Chapter 3 - The TrustAt the hospital, a nurse documented the marks on Bianca while a pediatrician examined Sophia. Both were exhausted, but safe.
I called Nathan Brooks, the attorney who'd handled my late wife Laura's estate. When I mentioned the guardianship petition, he asked me to photograph every page. Ten minutes later he called back.
"David, this isn't only about controlling Bianca. Laura's trust still holds more than a million dollars for her. Someone submitted paperwork last month attempting to redirect emergency distributions."
"Who?"
"The request carried Bianca's signature, Tobias's banking information, and a notarized witness statement from Renata."
My phone buzzed. A message from Renata: I know you found Bianca. Don't believe everything she tells you. Then another: And whatever you do, don't let Nathan call the police.
Nathan had already contacted the trust company's fraud department. He also told me something Renata clearly didn't know — the attempted distribution had never been approved. Laura's trust required independent verification whenever a beneficiary's capacity was questioned, and the bank had contacted Nathan because he was still listed as successor trust adviser. That safeguard had blocked $275,000 from being transferred into an account Tobias controlled.
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It didn't explain how he'd tracked Bianca to Dallas, though. She looked toward Sophia's stroller. "He knew every motel I tried."
A hospital social worker helped us empty the diaper bag and stroller. Beneath the stroller liner was a small tracking device. Bianca had never seen it. The registration was later linked to Tobias.
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